1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to antennas and in particular to an antenna having an integral ground plane, support and antenna element all made from a flexible circuit material.
2. Prior Art
Antennas for global positioning systems (GPS) are known in the art and an exemplary conventional GPS antenna system is shown generally at 1 in FIG. 1. The conventional antenna system includes an antenna element 2 mounted to a center support 4 which is mounted to a metal base 6. A dome 8 and bottom housing 9 enclose these components. The antenna element 2 is made from a flexible circuit and the ends of the antenna element 2 are attached to perimeter points of the base 6. A disadvantage of the conventional antenna system is that it requires extensive assembly during manufacturing. The antenna element 2 must be connected to the support 4 and the support 4 must be connected to the base 6. In addition, the ends of the antenna element 2 are attached to the base 6. Another disadvantage is that the tolerance and repeatability in manufacturing is limited thereby introducing variations from one antenna system to the next. Attaching the ends of the antenna element 2 to the base 6 creates limitations on the gain patterns available and the bandwidths obtainable.